How to use AI at work

Most people still think of AI as a tool—something you use to speed up a task or clean up your writing. But the real shift happens when you stop treating AI like a digital assistant and start working with it like a sparring partner. Someone who helps you think clearer, stress-test your ideas, and get to better outcomes faster.

At GritAI, we have spent the last year learning from the teams doing this. In this article, you will find three simple ways to plug AI into your daily work—not as a hack, but as a habit.

AI as Your Brainstorm Partner

We have all experienced that moment at work when you hit a wall. Perhaps you are leading a project but feel uncertain about the next steps, or you are prepping for an important meeting and want to challenge your assumptions.

This is precisely where AI shines as your brainstorming partner. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help you move from a blank page to insights in seconds.

How to use it:

Start by clearly stating your challenge. For example:

“Act as my brainstorm partner. I'm preparing a proposal to streamline our internal reporting process. Help me think through pain points, stakeholder concerns, and possible solutions.”

Within moments, AI delivers a structured breakdown, highlighting friction points you may have missed and proposing stakeholder-focused solutions.

You can then iterate further:

“Can you outline 2–3 potential next steps that I could pitch to the leadership team?”

Instantly, your messy thoughts become clear, actionable plans. Tailor the AI's responses to fit your style—ask it to challenge you, provide alternative perspectives, or adapt to a specific communication style.

💡 Pro Tip: Set up this workflow as a project with detailed system instructions in your favorite AI tool (e.g., Claude). Define your preferences upfront, and you’ll have a dedicated brainstorm partner ready whenever needed.

AI as Your Financial Storyteller

Executives often don't need data—they need the story behind it. Turning spreadsheets into narratives can be challenging. AI becomes your financial storyteller, transforming raw data into meaningful insights.

How to use it:

Paste your data into your AI tool with a clear request:

“Here's our Q4 financial report and budget versus actuals. Can you summarize the key takeaways in plain English? Explain why revenue is up by 10%, identify which expenses ran over budget, and flag risks or opportunities for next quarter.”

AI generates an executive-friendly summary instantly, making the numbers approachable and actionable.

Follow up with requests like:

“Great. Now turn this into three concise bullet points for the board update.”

Suddenly, you are not just sharing figures—you are telling a story.

💡 Pro Tip: Use AI features like Claude’s Artifacts or ChatGPT’s Canvas to visualize the story for even greater impact.

AI as Your Presentation Assistant

Creating clear, focused presentations from lengthy reports or notes can take hours. AI can quickly distill content into structured slide outlines, ready for refinement and presentation.

How to use it:

Provide your text with a simple instruction:

“Turn this text into a 10-slide presentation with main ideas and speaker notes.”

AI quickly identifies key points, structures your content into clear slide headlines, and suggests visuals and talking points.

Improve your slides further by asking:

“Can you tighten slide three and suggest a visual idea for slide four?”

With minimal effort, your raw notes become polished, presentation-ready content—like having a professional presentation builder at your disposal, minus the manual work.

💡 Pro Tip: Ask Claude or ChatGPT to create detailed slide outlines directly within their interfaces, making your transition from concept to delivery even faster.

Getting Started 🚀

You don't need to change your workflow overnight. Just pick one approach that best fits your task or goals and try integrating AI step by step.

With thoughtful use, AI becomes more than just a tool—it becomes your teammate, helping you think clearer, explain faster, and present better.

Want to see these use cases in action? Check out the video below where we walk through each example step by step.